We headed to the hospital around 6am yesterday after my water broke spontaneously at home. I labored all day and the girls entered the world after 10pm last night on January 13, 2025. Lillian was born naturally but Amelia made things tricky and was born by c-section. We are so thankful for my incredible nurses and doctor that acted quickly and made great care decisions.

Lillian weighed 4lbs 4oz and Mia was 3lbs 14oz. Both girls needed breathing support so after meeting them they headed quickly to the NICU. They both currently are on a CPAP machine and a feeding tube, but no oxygen support was needed. We hope this continues to go well and they can be off those supports in a week or so.

The girls will also need to work on maintaining body temperature and being able to eat before they head home. We are looking at a minimum of 2 weeks in the NICU, but perhaps more.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us and continue to pray for us! We feel so blessed to have such a wonderful community near and far. Our girls are strong! 🩷🩷

Lots to share soon! The girls are here!

👶🏼🩷👶🏼🩷

The babies scared us on Sunday, and we thought they might be making an early appearance into the world! Thankfully we decided to go to the hospital before the snowstorm to see what was going on. I was having some painful contractions that wouldn’t let up. The doctors were able to confirm that I wasn’t in active labor and I was able to get meds to stop the contractions. I’m 32 weeks and 5 days, and we are hoping to make it until 34-36 weeks. We are so close, but to keep them out of the NICU, we really need 2-3 more weeks! Thanks for praying with us.

My last chemo was Jan. 2, and I’ll be off chemo until about 2-4 weeks after the babies are born. Chemo went really well last week and I’m so thankful to have a break! A BIG thanks to my mom for doing all the cooking and cleaning lately!

We can’t wait to meet our sweet girls. Here is a sneak peek of their names- Mia and Lily! 🩷💜

We had a wonderful Christmas and I hope you all did too! Lots of special moments with the kids and great family time. We’re thankful for all of it.

Not too much to update you all on. I’m recovering from pneumonia, almost 32 weeks along, and the babies are growing well and making me extremely uncomfortable. My next chemo is this Thursday. It’s getting harder and harder to move around and to sleep. Ideally, I’m holding out to deliver until week 35 or 36, but I don’t think my body can handle any longer. We want the girls to be healthy enough to avoid a NICU stay, but being this large and this pregnant is so taxing. I also plan on returning to work January 6 and working until delivery.

Today I met with a radiologist to plan out my radiation. There is a small possibility I might avoid radiation, but it depends on how my surgery goes and what my genetic testing says. It is so hard to make a specific schedule for treatment when it all depends on the babies arrival.

After the babies arrive, I could get a 2-4 week break from chemo, then have 12 more chemo sessions. Then after a month break from chemo, I’ll have surgery. Depending on how surgery goes, then radiation might follow about 1-2 months afterwards, with a need for about 25 sessions. It seems like a never ending process with no finish line. That’s the hardest part to accept emotionally. I’ll still be receiving treatment into July and August of this year, but it depends on so many things. I’m thankful all the doctors are focusing on making sure this cancer never returns, but it means a harsher and longer treatment plan.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy new year! Please continue to pray for us, specifically Michael, who is being caretaker extraordinaire and taking on everything around the house. Thanks for following along!

I’ve officially made it to 30 weeks pregnant and to our holiday break! Both babies are over 3 pounds, which is great news. My body is beyond tired from carrying these two babes and recovering from last week’s chemo that I can’t wait to put my feet up and spend time with our sweet kiddos these next two weeks.

I’ve been blessed with 2 incredibly well behaved classes at school so I don’t have to over-exert myself at work. The kids are kind and caring and good listeners and I feel so lucky to be their teacher. They also don’t mind that I sit more instead of stand in front of the classroom while I’m teaching. My coworkers have been great too, helping to take my class to the other side of the building so I get less steps in, or taking my recess duty so I don’t have to stand outside for a half an hour. I’m so thankful!

At home, I’d be a complete mess without Michael, my mom, and Heather. They do laundry, dishes, cooking, crafting and playing with the kids, and remind me it’s okay to rest. Words can’t describe what they mean to me.

At times, I sit in the dark thoughts of being useless to my family, but I try to stay strong and remember that this is just a season in life. And it happens to be a season where I am doing 2 extremely hard things. Nonetheless, I need rest, whether I enjoy it or not, especially since moving around is becoming more difficult by the day.

Nothing brings me more joy than Christmas- remembering baby Jesus, hearing my kids sing hymns, seeing the lights twinkle on the tree, eating all the yummy goodies, and spending quality time with loved ones. I hope everyone is able to find their own joy in the season, regardless of hardships. 🎄✨❤️

On Saturday the 7th, my sister Heather, with the help of my mom, my mother in law, and my Aunt Annie, threw me the cutest baby “sprinkle.” When we found out we were having twins, we definitely knew we needed some more baby items!

My sister is so talented when it comes to parties. The decor was adorable, and I loved the pink Christmas theme! I never thought I’d be so lucky to have a Christmas baby shower. My Aunt Annie prepped and made all the food, which included yummy chicken soup and a gorgeous spread of charcuterie.

The best part was being surrounded by family and friends that I know love me and Michael, and will love and help us with the twins when they make their big arrival!

Having cancer and being pregnant with twins has been incredibly overwhelming. Thanks to everyone that helped lighten the mood (and our load!) by purchasing gifts and diapers and celebrating us. We hope everyone comes over and holds babies when they are here!

Thanks for being a part of this journey!

Today I had another baby check up. This was my best one yet! The doctor was so happy with the blood flow to both of their brains and their amniotic fluid levels. They have also gained plenty of weight and they are both about 2 and a half pounds. Today I’m 28 weeks. Each week they stay inside is a blessing.

That is such a huge answer to prayer! Thanks to everyone praying for us. 💕

We are thankful to have spent the last few days eating yummy food with family. It means so much to Michael and I to spend time with those that truly love and invest in our kids. We are so lucky to have so many family members who do that every time we are all together.

I was able to go for an early morning doctor appointment yesterday to check on the blood flow in the twins’ brains. The doctor was happy that the levels were trending back to normal and not getting further apart.

I am currently 27 weeks along and our hope is that we can deliver the babies at 37 weeks and that my water doesn’t break on its own between now and then, but there are still so many unknowns. I also hope to continue to work until the babies come, and I’m hoping that there won’t be any reason to put me on bed rest.

I’m feeling a lot of effects of the chemo this time. Obviously I’m tired, but I’ve experienced more nausea and vomiting than I did with chemo round 1. Here’s hoping it doesn’t keep getting worse with each round. I go back for round 3 on December 12.

I want to say thank you for all the prayers and texts and food we’ve received. It means so much to both of us.

I’m trying to keep the faith and focus on this incredible Christmas season we get to experience and making it magical for our sweet kids. They deserve it. 🩷💙✨

I wanted to write an extra special thank you to the Friends of Berlin Performing Arts (Michael’s school’s performing arts booster program) for feeding our family the week leading up to Under The Lights! They provided a meal Monday- Sunday and Rachel delivered it to our home every night. Our kids loved our dinner drop off!

It was appreciated so much, as I was really feeling the effects of chemo #1. Also, Michael was working late each night so it was so nice that dinner was ready for him at the school and I had the energy to play with the kids and not worry about dinner.

Our community is wrapping us in love and we appreciate so much! 💙🐻🩵

Yesterday was such a busy day. It started with such gorgeous snow falling down as we left home.

We had to be downtown at an OSU medical building at 8am for an abdominal ultrasound to check the functions of my liver, kidneys, pancreas, and gallbladder to ensure everything is working correctly after chemo treatment #1. Constantly being a patient is wearing on me.

Then, we quickly headed over to the Stefanie Speilman facility for chemo #2. Every chemo day is the same routine: I do the routine blood draw, the nurse gets the iv ready, we meet with my doctor to confirm all levels are okay, and then we’re moved into our own private room for the actual chemo infusion part. Yesterday I needed a light and funny movie so I picked 50 First Dates. The actual infusion lasted the entirety of the movie and then we were done. I’m so thankful for everyone’s prayers. There weren’t any complications. Emotionally it’s still hard, and physically it isn’t fun, but I’ve made it through 2 infusions! 💪🏼

Then, we were able to get a quick lunch and head to St. Ann’s maternal fetal medicine clinic for an appointment. These appointments make me so nervous. I try not to wait for bad news, but it always seems like we have a few good, even great, appointments, and then something else comes up. The babies fluid amniotic levels are amazing, measuring about 4.5 cm, and they are both weighing in at 1 1b 13 oz. However, my doctor found something else to be precautious about.

He noticed the blood flow in their brains aren’t equal, similar to what happened to their amniotic fluid levels about a month and a half ago. This can be the start of another syndrome, called TAPS. He wants to see me back in a week to quickly check the blood flow in their brains. It’s always something with these 2 babies! I learned that moms of fraternal twins don’t have to deal with any of these circumstances in the womb, so moms of identical twins are extra tough! These babies are going to need some toughness from me whenever they get here. I’m praying for the physical strength to make it to the end of January, and that the babies would stay put until then to avoid any NICU stays.

Our big kiddos are doing well. It hurts I can’t be more active with them, but they know how much they are loved. We are thankful for both sets of parents and my sister who do so much around the house and still have time to play with the kids. They love it.

We are keeping the faith, even though it’s hard. 💕